AllMovie

Filmed in the summer of 1947 but kept back from release for nearly two years, this fine Western noir bears the stamp of legendary producer Val Lewton, who had abandoned the project in the early stages. Never much of an actor, former 4-F leading man Robert Sterling is fine here, unshaven, laconic, and looking for all the world like a younger Joel McCrea. Sterling and an excellent supporting cast are well served by Mark Robson's taut direction, which basically let the story tell itself without any fuss whatsoever. A young Gloria Grahame shows a bit of what was in store for movie audiences in the 1950s, and Claude Jarman, Jr. is far less cloying than usual as McCrea's illiterate kid brother. Most surprising, perhaps, is Myrna Dell, a blonde starlet, usually wasted in purely decorative assignments, giving a standout performance as a mercenary saloon girl on the lam. Little known today, Roughshod is definitely one western that deserves a renaissance.